Isaac w



(No Model.)

I. W. LITCHPIELD.

.BALLOT FOLDER.

PatentedPeb. 6, 1894.

wibi-E5535 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC TV. LITCHFIELD, OF lVARlVlCK, NEW YORK.

BALLOT-QFOLDER.

.SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,013, dated February 6, 1894.

Application filed October 10, 1892. Serial No. 448,426. (No model.)

T0 aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, ISAAC W. LITCHFIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Warwick, county of Orange, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Ballot-Folders, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has for its object the provision of means for the proper education of voters in the voting of the modern Australian ballot.

Itis a customary feature of the Australian ballot law to speeify an exact size and shape of ballot and method of folding the same,the purpose being to render every ballot cast eX- actly like every other and entirely prevent the nature of the ballot being revealed by any external sign of identification. The strictness of the law in regard to the proper folding of the ballots has occasioned inconvenience from the throwing out of many ballots honestly cast but not folded in precise accordance with the law. By the use of my invention the correct folding of each and every ballot is insured without possibility of error.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification: Figure I is a perspective view of my improved ballot folder. Fig. II is a longitudinal sectional view with a ballot in place thereon. Fig. III is a view of the folded ballot folder with ballot therein. Fig. IV is a view of the folded ballot. Fig. V is a detail enlarged edge view of the folder when first folded; the folder being in one piece and provided with a reinforce where it is creased.

My ballot folder is made of some stiff material which will when once creased preserve the creases and be more readily folded in the direction of such creases than in any other direction; in fact, will resist with someforce folding in any other direction. The material may be stiff cloth, card-board, heavy Manila paper, or any other material having like characteristics. Such a sheet is illustrated at A and I have here represented the form used for the Australian ballot under the law of the State of New York but the shape and size and the creasing of the ballot will of course vary with the law of the locality where it is to be used. As here shown, the ballot folder has a line of perforations at a nearoneend,a cross wise crease at b half-way between said line of perferations and the otherend and creases c, d formed by the folding of the ballot first at the cross-wise crease b and then folding it longitudinally. The creased portions may have reinforces B of cloth or other flexible material joining two pieces of material A, A at the crease b as in Fig. I, or, the folder may be in one continuous piece A, as in Fig. V, having reinforee E. The ballot folder being thus made and creased is ready for use. The voter having' in `his possession one of these ballot folders lays thereon the ballot which he intends to vote so thatits parts will correspond throughout with the like parts of the ballot folder, the perforated lines of the ballot and the ballot folder resting one over the other. l may employa small pocket orguide C to assist in locating the ballot D upon the folder A. The voter has simply to push the end of the ballot into this pocket when it will naturally assume the correct relation to the folder. The voter then folds the folder with the ballot lying upon it and the folder naturally folds first along the crease b and then along the creases c, d, the result being that the folder is folded as shown in Fig. III with the ballot within it and on opening the folder the voter can remove the ballot therefrom leaving it in the form shown in Fig. IV correctly folded for voting. Both the interior and exterior or either of such surfaces of the ballot folder can have any suitable instructions printed thereon or may be used as a medium for advertising.

It is obvious that the folder may be used both in the educatiug of voters to the proper use of the Australian ballot and in the actual folding of the official ballot at the polls and that the same folder may be used again and again for any number of ballots.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a ballot folder consisting of a sheet of stiff material capable of automatically imparting creases,

IOO

as it is folded, to a thinner sheet placed withsuch as card-board having permanent creases in it, and having' permanent creases eorreand having a* guide pocket to aid in placing ro slponding to the creases to be imparted to the a ballot thereon, substantially as set forth.

` s eet to be folded by the folder as specified.-

' 5 2. Apermanently creased stifi ballot folder ISAAC LITCHFIELD' having its ereased portions reinforoed, subwitnesses:

stantially as set forth. LIVINGSTON RUTHERFORD,

3. A ballot folder formed of stifi? material r G. FRED L. HOFFMAN. 

